Change in career choice pays off
2009.01.19
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In November 2007, Michiyo Kaneda led a team of fellow seminar students from Soka University to win second place in an annual contest for the best economic presentation. The event, which was sponsored by Nikkei Business Publications, one of the nation’s largest business magazine groups, featured 94 teams from 18 universities. Kaneda’s team won the Award of Excellence for a presentation on methodologies to combat malaria in Africa. A year later, Kaneda was offered a position at Panasonic Corporation, the Osaka-based consumer electronics giant. Interestingly enough, majoring in business was a fallback for Kaneda. She had for years hoped to become a teacher, having been accepted into Soka ‘s economics program only after failing to gain entrance to its faculty of education. “I wanted to become a teacher so much that, at one point, I enrolled in a correspondence program at Soka to obtain a teaching certificate even as I majored in economics,” she recalls. Two programs brought new perspective to her dilemma, however. First, she discovered that the Economics Faculty offered an International Program with classes instructed in English. She felt it offered an ideal opportunity to redress a major personal weakness—English language proficiency. Moreover, she participated in the English training program for three weeks at Soka University of America in southern California. Kaneda also eagerly took advantage of Soka’s scholarship program in her freshman year. She worked diligently, often through the night. Her industry paid off: She not only earned a scholarship that year, but went on to secure scholarships for three consecutive years. “I was inspired by my instructors and fellow students, and through my English training in USA, my perspective became truly global,” says Kaneda today. “I became attracted to electronics manufacturers because I felt they positively impacted people in their daily lives.” She chose Panasonic because she saw great potential for the firm’s growth in developing countries and because her graduating thesis is on the possibilities of solar energy generation in Africa. “In the end,” she says, “I was attracted to Panasonic’s belief in the overriding importance of developing their employees.” Today, Kaneda is sharing her experience with other undergraduates, mentoring younger students in her economics seminar and counseling others at the school’s Career Center. Says Kaneda: “I just want to return something to Soka [before she graduates] because this school gave me so much.” |
At Soka University of America |
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